Vacuum cleaner



Sept. 5, 1939. s. E. LOFGREN VACUUM CLEANER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April27, 19 58 INVENTOR. M W 0% ffiw A4 ATTORNEYF Sept; 1939. G. E. LOFGREN2,171,856-

VACUUM CLEANER Filed April 27, 1938 2 Sheet-Sheet 2- 1N VENTOR.

A44 ATTO Patented Sept. 5, 1939 PATENT OFFICE 2,171,856 vacuum cmnmmGustaf Eina'r Lofgren, Riverside, Com, assignmto Electrolux Corporation,Dover, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application April 27, 1938,Serial No. 204,499

4Claims.

Y My invention relates to vacuum cleaners and more particularly tovacuum cleaners of the inside bag type.

In vacuum cleaners of the, so-called, inside 5 bag type the dustseparating member or dust bag is located within the casing of the vacuumcleaner unit. The cleaner unit is normally supported on a horizontalaxis and the dust bag is located in one end of the unit. A removable endcover 10 permits the removal and replacement of the dust bag. When thedust bag, which is being removed, is substantially full considerabledifiiculty may be experienced in removing the dust bag without spillingsome of the dirt near the mouth. 15 of the bag.

In accordance with my invention a dust bag receiving opening is arrangedto reduce to a minimum the likelihood of spilling dirt from the dust bagwhile it is being removed from the 20 vacuum cleaner unit.

My invention also contemplates the provision of a separate membersecured to the casing of the vacuum cleaner unit forming the dust bagopening with means for securing the dust bag in 25 the casing andpermitting its ready removal.

What I consider to be novel and my invention may be better understood byreference to the following specification and appended claims whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying 3o drawings, in which vFig. 1 is a side view of a vacuum cleaner broken away in part;

Fig. 2 is an end view on an enlarged scale of the front end ring of thevacuum cleaner unit;

35 Fig. 3 is a side sectional view of the front end of the vacuumcleaner unit with the front end cover removed;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail view taken along the line 4-4 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3 except with the front endcover secured to the vacuum cleaner unit casing;

Fig, 6 is a side view of the front end of the vacuum cleaner unitshowingv the dust bag 45 partially removed; and

\ Fig. 7 is aperspective view of the front end of the vacuum cleanerunit with the front cover removed.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral II in- 50 dicates generally avacuum cleaner unit of the inside bag type with a casing H supported ona horizontal surface l2 by means of sleighs l3. Vacuum cleaner unit i isconnected to a cleaning tool H by means of a flexible hose l and a 55substantially rigid tubular member It, A dust separating member or dustbag I! is located in the casing II at the front end, shown at the leftin Fig. 1. Dust bag I1 is secured in casing II by means of a removablefront end cover It. Flexible hose I5 is connected in an inlet open- 6ing l3 provided in front end cover 18. A multistage centrifugal fan 20driven by an electric motor 2| is mounted in casing II and. produces aflow of air from front to rear of easing II or from left toright asshown in Fig. 1. When 10 flexible hose I5 is connected toinlet openingIS the flow of air produced by the operation of fan 20 results in asuction or partial vacuum at the cleaning tool I41 When .thecleaningtool I4 is resting on a rug or other surface, air drawn in bythe suction will carry with it dirt located'on the rug or other surface.The dirt-laden air will travel in the direction indicated by the arrowsin Fig. 1. As the air passes through the dust bag I! any dirt carried byit will be separated from it. The air then passes through the fan 20,through or around themotor 2|, and out of the casing I l 1 through anexhaust opening 22.

Dust bag ll may be removed from or replaced in casing ll through anopening formed in a ring 23 secured around the open front end of casingI I. As may be seen by reference to Figs. 2 and 3, ring 23 is formedwith an inwardly extending flange 24 spaced from the adjacent frontsurface 25. A metal ring 26 is secured to dust 3 bag I I and is providedwith an outwardly extending flange 21 that overlies the flange 24 ofring 23. An annular gasket 28 of rubber or other flexible material witha U-shaped cross-section is secured to the flange 21 of dust bag ring26. Gasket 28 rests upon flange 24 of ring 23. An annular recess 29 ofring 23 receives the'end of casing ll. Ring 23 may be secured to casingil by means of a plurality of bolts. One such bolt 33 is shown in Fig; 3passing through an opening in a bracket 3| secured to casing H andentering a threaded aperture in ring 23. As may be seen upon referenceto Figs. 2 and 4, I two tapered cavities 32 are provided in ring 23extending from the flange 24 to the front surface 25. Extending forwardyfrom the front surface 25 are two bosses 33. Bosses 33 enter openings infront end cover i8 and are engaged by looking mechanism, not shown, forsecuring the cover to the casing H and for holding dust bag H in casingH. When cover I8 is secured to casing H a plate 34, see Fig. 5,compresses gasket 28 against flange 24. In this manner dust bag I1 issecurely held in casing H and an air-tight seal 66 for the dust bagopening is produced by gasket 28.

In the use of the vacuum cleaner unit I!) for cleaning purposes dirtcollects in the dust bag H. The air passes approximatelyequally throughall parts of the dust bag I! and so the dirt separated from the aircollects about equally on all parts of the dust bag. As a result, thereis about the same amount of dirt accumulated around the sides of dustbag I'I at its mouth as along the sides in the interior of the dust bag.When it is desired to empty the dirt collected in the dust bag H thefront end cover I8 is removed. The removal of the front cover I8 doesnot cause the dirt in the mouth of the dust bag H to fall on the rug orfloor on which the vacuum cleaner unit I0 is located because the ring 23is mounted at an angle to the vertical and the dust bag ring 26 rests inan inclined position with the mouth of dust bag I! opening upwardly.However, unless care is exercised some dirt may be spilled from the dustbag as it is removed from casing II. The danger of spilling dirt inremoving the dust bag is obviated if the dust bag ring 26 is grasped atthe bottom by fingers inserted in cavities 32 and the ring 26 raisedbypivoting it on the top edge against the shoulder between the flange 24and top surface 25. An intermediate position of dust bag I! as it isbeing removed from casing I I is shown in Fig. 6. After the mouth ofdust bag I I is inclined upwardly at a sufficiently great angle the dustbag may be removed bodily from casing II. The dust bag I1 may then becarried to a receptacle and emptied in the usual manner.

In some cases it is found desirable to empty the dust bag on a paper. orother receptacle placed adjacent the cleaner unit. This may be done byplacing the paper under the front end of the vacuum cleaner unit l0.After the front end cover l8 has been removed the dust bag ring 25 maybe grasped at the top where the depth of the flange 24, below the topsurface 25 is less than at the bottom, as may be seen in Fig. 3. r Thedust bag ring 26 may then be pivoted quickly downward with its bottomedge engaging the shoulder between the flange 24 and top surface 25.This last movement has to be performed quickly because as soon as themouth of the dust bag is inclined downwardly the dirt located around itsmouth will begin to fall out and may cover a larger area than desired.The dirt may then be emptied on the paper.

What I claim is:

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising a casing having an opening, a ringsecured to said casing around said opening, an inwardly extending aroundsaid opening and inclined to a vertical' plane, a flange extendinginwardly from said ring forming a dust bag seat spaced from the frontsurface of the ring, and a dust bag having a ring resting on saidflange, said first-named ring having a tapered cavity in the frontsurface extending to said flange whereby said dust bag ring may begrasped at the bottom and pivoted upwardly against the shoulder at thetop of the ring b'e-' tween the front surface and the flange forremoving the dust bag from the casing without disturbing the dustcollected within the bag.

3. A vacuum cleaner including a casing having an opening, a ring securedto said casing around said opening and inclined to' a vertical plane, aw

flange extending inwardly from said ring forming a dust bag seat spacedfrom the front surface of the ring, and a dust bag located within saidcas-' ing having a ring resting on said flange with the mouth of thedust bag opening upwardly, said first-named ring having tapered cavitiesin the front surface extending to said flange whereby said dust bag ringmay be grasped at the bottom and pivoted upwardly against the shoulderat the top of the ring between the front surface and the flange forremoving the dust bag from the casing without disturbing the dustcollected within the bag.

4. A vacuum cleaner including a casing having an opening, a ring securedto said casing around said opening and inclined'to a vertical plane, aflange extending inwardly from said ring forming a dust bag seat spacedfrom the front surface of the ring, and a dust bag having a ring restingon said flange with the mouth of the dust bag opening upwardly, saidfirst-named ring having two tapered cavities at the bottom extendingfrom the front surface to said flange whereby said dust bag ring may begrasped at the bottom and pivoted upwardly against the shoulderat thetop of the ring between the front surface and the

